Power in a Title

What if Martin Luther King Jr's speech was titled "I woke up and Voilà!?"  Would the power and significance of his mighty "I Have a Dream" speech been lessened with a lackluster title? Probably not. The strength and efficacious words contained within this speech changed the course of history because America, no the world, desperately needed a new, more humane direction. 

I was not around on that amazing summer afternoon on August 28th 1963.  Born the following decade I often find myself thankful for Martin Luther King Jr's dream.  Thankful that my classrooms and playgrounds were filled will friends with a wide range of skin colors.  Never a thought entered my mind that we were different when we sat together at the lunch table trading desserts or took turns sharing our Coleco handheld games.    

Now that I think about it, maybe I should be thanking all the adults that helped raise me.   Thanks Mom and Dad, Teachers, Coaches for allowing Dr. King's speech to permeate your lives.  You allowed my generation to be the 1st to effectively benefit from from the seismic change in race relations lead by Dr. King.  Thank you for providing me a world where I drank from the same waterfountains, shared the same seats on the schoolbus and wore the same uniforms while enjoying the sports we loved.  I honestly can't imagine the divisive world you had to endure when you were kids.  Your courage, strength of character and moral correctness enriched my childhood immensely.

 Mahalia Jackson 1911 - 1972

When MLK Jr. stepped up to the podium to deliver his 17 minute speeach before a crowd of over 200,000 the tile on his speech read "Normalcy, Never Again."  Perhaps we should all be thanking  the great Mahalia Jackson for shouting from the crowd ... "tell them about the dream, Martin."